The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A former Bahamas Oil Refining Company (BORCO) managing director yesterday said the Bahamas should become a ‘producing nation’ and refine its own oil if commercial quantities are found in this nation’s waters.

Raymond Jones, now managing director of Ramses International, told the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) Energy Security Forum that the Bahamas should refine its own oil, rather than simply to ship it elsewhere.

He added that Grand Bahamas was the prime location for establishing an oil refinery, BORCO having once had such a capacity, as it has a large industrial base.

Mr Jones said there BORCO’s existing infrastructure in Freeport would also facilitate the storage and movement of large quantities of crude oil.

“We have a huge head start in terms of getting back business if, and when, the oil exploration is successful and there is crude oil coming out of the ground,” said Mr Jones.

“The Bahamas sits in a very enviable position geographically, where thousands of vessels pass our islands every single year, moving goods and petroleum products to different parts of the world.

“In oil production you need storage facilities, the ability to refine it and move it in mass. We have most of those key elements.”

Mr Jones added: “I see the Bahamas as being the leading supplier of fuel for the Caribbean, because I would think that the amount of oil we may find will far exceed our ability to consume it here in the Bahamas.

“In talking about WTO accession, we can take a different role at the table if we are a net exporter as opposed to a net importer.”

Simon Potter, the Bahamas Petroleum Company’s (BPC) chief executive, yesterday said the company would store any oil it extracted from Bahamian waters on a tanker, transferring it to a purchaser’s vessel out at sea.

Wilfred Smith, president of Green Fuel Enterprises, expressed concern that this would result in Bahamian oil being refined overseas and shipped back into the Bahamas, adding to the cost and price that might be charged to Bahamian consumers.

But Ryan Pinder, minister of financial services, said that the Government could not mandae “vertical integration” in any industry via legislation if someone such as BPC did not want to add refining capacity.

He added, though, that the Government would use policy to encourage the development of a Bahamas-based oil refining capacity, and require that product discovered here be used for local energy generation.

Mr Pinder, who has responsibility for trade and industry, highlighted the role WTO accession would play in boosting this nation’s overall competitiveness.

Mr Pinder said that not being a WTO member could put viable Bahamian exports at risk, including potential oil exports.

“Without the guarantee of trade agreements and WTO accession, you have no guarantee of access into markets. A country can say if you are not a member, we are going to put a discriminatory tax on that product exiting the Bahamas,” said Mr Pinder.

“Non-members have no right of recourse. Not being a member of WTO can put at risk any viable export that you may have, such as a new industry like oil exploration in the Bahamas.”